Everything about Gabriele Falloppio totally explained
Gabriele Falloppio (
1523 -
October 9,
1562), often known by his
Latin name
Fallopius, was one of the most important
anatomists and
physicians of the sixteenth century.
He was born at
Modena and died at
Padua. His family was noble but very poor and it was only by a hard struggle he succeeded in obtaining an education. Financial difficulties led him to join the
clergy, and in
1542, he became a
canon at Modena's
cathedral. He studied medicine at
Ferrara, at that time one of the best medical schools in Europe. He received his MD in
1548 under the guidance of
Antonio Musa Brassavola. After taking his degree he worked at various medical schools and then became professor of anatomy at Ferrara, in
1548.
Girolamo Fabrici was one of his famous students. He was called the next year to
Pisa, then the most important university in Italy. In
1551 Falloppio was invited by
Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to occupy the chair of anatomy and surgery at the
University of Padua. He also held the professorship of
botany and was superintendent of the botanical gardens. Though he died when less than forty, he'd made his mark on anatomy for all time.
This was the golden age of anatomy and Falloppio's contemporaries included such great anatomists as
Vesalius,
Eustachius, and
Realdo Colombo (whom he succeeded at Padua). It has sometimes been asserted that he was jealous of certain of the great discoverers in anatomy and that this is the reason for his frequent criticisms and corrections of their work. However,
Heinrich Haeser, an authority in
medical history, declared that Falloppio was noted for his modesty and deference to his fellow workers and especially to Vesalius. His purpose in suggesting corrections, therefore, was the advance of the science of anatomy.
Falloppio's own work dealt mainly with the anatomy of the head. He added much to what was known before about the internal ear and described in detail the
tympanum and its relations to the
osseous ring in which it's situated. He also described minutely the
circular and
oval windows (fenestræ) and their communication with the
vestibule and
cochlea. He was the first to point out the connection between the
mastoid cells and the
middle ear. His description of the
lachrymal passages in the
eye was a marked advance on those of his predecessors and he also gave a detailed account of the
ethmoid bone and its cells in the nose. His contributions to the anatomy of the
bones and
muscles were very valuable. It was in
myology particularly that he corrected Vesalius. He studied the
reproductive organs in both sexes, and described the
Fallopian tube, which leads from the
ovary to the
uterus and now bears his name. The
aquæductus Fallopii, the canal through which the
facial nerve passes after leaving the
auditory nerve, is also named after him .
His contributions to practical medicine were also important. He was the first to use an aural
speculum for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear, and his writings on surgical subjects are still of interest. He published two treatises on
ulcers and
tumors, a treatise on surgery, and a commentary on
Hippocrates's book on wounds of the head. In his own time he was regarded as somewhat of an authority in the field of sexuality. His treatise on
syphilis advocated the use of
condoms, and he initiated what may have been the first
clinical trial of the device. Falloppio was also interested in every form of therapeutics. He wrote a treatise on baths and thermal waters, another on simple
purgatives, and a third on the composition of
drugs. None of these works, except his
Anatomy (
Venice,
1561), were published during his lifetime. As we've them, they consist of manuscripts of his lectures and notes of his students. They were published by
Volcher Coiter (
Nuremberg,
1575).
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